Tampa Police Benevolent Association is outraged after the city sent scores of policemen to handle Super Bowl LV extra-events amid an unprecedented pandemic.
“We were under the impression it was going to be a scaled-down event. It wasn’t going to be a whole lot of extra activities going on and we weren’t going to utilize a ton of officers,” TPBA President Darla Portman said.
Union officers signed an open letter Wednesday claiming that at least 90 unofficial Super Bowl events are scheduled in a five-day span with “many of those having national figures, celebrities and entertainers being advertised as being in attendance to help draw a crowd.”
Portman said that Union officers felt like “a kick in their faces” when the NFL did not pare down the celebrations the way worldwide sports leagues did this year.
“The Lightning were in the Stanley Cup and the NHL limited big gatherings and played virtually empty rinks. The Rays took a similar perspective when they made it to the big show. If the risk is too high for pirates, the Rays, and the Lightning, what’s so different for the NFL?”
Tampa officers have to maintain security and order among crowds of people flocking together to celebrate and watch the games.
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor mandated masks for all patrons outside and around the Raymond James Stadium as well as in other touristic areas of the city.
“If we’re still in a pandemic and we’re still worried about Covid, why are we having such large scale events?” Portman questioned. “It almost seems like it’s contradictory.”
“Our safety and our health don’t even matter anymore. It’s almost as if it’s all about the money and about bringing in this NFL experience.
